Gina Papalia - Studio Owner, Second Generation Teacher & The Pilates Standard Teacher Trainer lives in New York City with her husband and teenagers. Gina was introduced to Pilates at college while she was dancing at SUNY Purchase. She fell in love with Pilates and began her certification training in January of 1995, under Romana Kryzanowska, Bob Liekens, and Carol Dodge Baker after she graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BFA in Fine Arts and Dance. Then, she moved to New York City, danced most of her career with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, while completing her Pilates training at Drago’s with Romana and The Pilates Studio with Bob. After four years of working in the Pilates Community, Gina opened Grasshopper Pilates Nyc in 2000. Since the beginning, Gina has embraced each client individually and unconditionally, balancing a serious approach with a fun, friendly attitude. Gina stays true to Classical Pilates and teaches the process logically to her students, so they understand what they are doing and can apply it to anything in their daily life. She challenges each client, working on their weaknesses and imbalances while acknowledging their strengths and accomplishments. Gina continues her training by taking sessions bi-weekly with Cary Regan and Phoebe Higgins in NYC, working with peers in the Pilates community, and attending workshops with others to broaden her knowledge of the Pilates Method and the body. Gina believes we should never stop learning. Gina is knowledgeable about the anatomy, movement, and musculature of the human body. Gina is LEVEL 2 certified in the Stecco Facia Manipulation (FM) and has studied anatomy with Irene Dowd. She enjoys sharing her knowledge with her clients to help them learn more about their bodies. This way, clients can work more efficiently. Gina makes Pilates a pleasurable learning experience that is simple, thorough, and effective. Gina is Regional Director and Teacher Trainer for The Pilates Standard (TPS), teaches on Pilatesology.com, PMA Certified. She has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, in several issues of Pilates Style Magazine, the New York Times, Point, Self, and Vogue. Gina’s very excited about her next adventure as a (TPS) The Pilates Standard Teacher Trainer. Having worked closely with Bob Liekens for 23 years, he handpicked Gina to help lead the teacher training program for TPS in the United States. The first training started in January 2021. She is excited to work with TPS to share her love and knowledge of the Classical Pilates that was mentored and nurtured to her by Romana Kryzanowska and Bob Liekens. Gina is the first teacher in the US to be certified in the BALLance Method created by Dr. Tanja Kühne. This is a new system created to balance and promote a healthy spine with the use of BALLance. Events starting May 2022. Teacher Training Summer 2022 TDB. More to come about the BALLance Method soon!

Gina Papalia - Studio Owner, Second Generation Teacher & The Pilates Standard Teacher Trainer lives in New York City with her husband and teenagers. Gina was introduced to Pilates at college while she was dancing at SUNY Purchase. She fell in love with Pilates and began her certification training in January of 1995, under Romana Kryzanowska, Bob Liekens, and Carol Dodge Baker after she graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BFA in Fine Arts and Dance. Then, she moved to New York City, danced most of her career with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, while completing her Pilates training at Drago’s with Romana and The Pilates Studio with Bob. After four years of working in the Pilates Community, Gina opened Grasshopper Pilates Nyc in 2000. Since the beginning, Gina has embraced each client individually and unconditionally, balancing a serious approach with a fun, friendly attitude. Gina stays true to Classical Pilates and teaches the process logically to her students, so they understand what they are doing and can apply it to anything in their daily life. She challenges each client, working on their weaknesses and imbalances while acknowledging their strengths and accomplishments. Gina continues her training by taking sessions bi-weekly with Cary Regan and Phoebe Higgins in NYC, working with peers in the Pilates community, and attending workshops with others to broaden her knowledge of the Pilates Method and the body. Gina believes we should never stop learning. Gina is knowledgeable about the anatomy, movement, and musculature of the human body. Gina is LEVEL 2 certified in the Stecco Facia Manipulation (FM) and has studied anatomy with Irene Dowd. She enjoys sharing her knowledge with her clients to help them learn more about their bodies. This way, clients can work more efficiently. Gina makes Pilates a pleasurable learning experience that is simple, thorough, and effective. Gina is Regional Director and Teacher Trainer for The Pilates Standard (TPS), teaches on Pilatesology.com, PMA Certified. She has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, in several issues of Pilates Style Magazine, the New York Times, Point, Self, and Vogue. Gina’s very excited about her next adventure as a (TPS) The Pilates Standard Teacher Trainer. Having worked closely with Bob Liekens for 23 years, he handpicked Gina to help lead the teacher training program for TPS in the United States. The first training started in January 2021. She is excited to work with TPS to share her love and knowledge of the Classical Pilates that was mentored and nurtured to her by Romana Kryzanowska and Bob Liekens. Gina is the first teacher in the US to be certified in the BALLance Method created by Dr. Tanja Kühne. This is a new system created to balance and promote a healthy spine with the use of BALLance. Events starting May 2022. Teacher Training Summer 2022 TDB. More to come about the BALLance Method soon!

Tricia O’Donnell, a former soloist with Pennsylvania Ballet and graduate of the School of American Ballet, was certified by Romana Kryzanowska and Bob Liekens in 1997 through Pilates inc. in NYC. In 2000, she opened Pilates in Port, located on Long Island, NY. She has been privileged to train dancers, college athletes, two Olympic Figure skaters, as well as the general population. In 2011, she became an adjunct professor at Adelphi University for the dance department, helping the dancers incorporate the Pilates method into their dance. For over 21 years, Tricia was a student and friend of Bob Liekens. Through Bob’s invitation, she participated in The Pilates Standard’s LEAP program in October 2018, two weeks before Bob passed away. She is privileged to be bringing her 20+ years of experience to the TPS Teacher Training Program and carrying on the legacy of Romana Kryzanowska and Bob Liekens. Tricia is also TPS Regional Director for Long Island.